The Securities and Exchange Commission is charging Vinay Kumar Nevatia with making fraudulent stock sales. According to the regulator, Kumar sold about $900,000 of stock in CSS Corp. Technologies Limited. The stock in the privately held data technology company supposedly belonged to him even though these were shares that he…
Investor Lawyers Blog
SEC Commissioner Wants Elder Fraud at Top of 2015 Agenda
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commissioner Michael S. Piwowar says that he wants investigations into elder fraud to stay one of the agency’s top priorities in 2015. Financial fraud targeting seniors is costing this demographic big time. According to a 2011 study by MetLife and the Center for Gerontology at Virginia…
Citigroup Global Markets Ordered by FINRA to Pay $15M Fine for Supervisory Failures Involving Equity Research, IPO Roadshows
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority says it is fining Citigroup Global Markets, Inc. (C) $15 million for not adequately overseeing communications between clients and equity researchers and trading staff and sales members, as well as for letting one of its analysts indirectly take part in road shows that marketed IPOs…
Securities Fraud Headlines: ConvergEx Group Subsidiary Gets Criminal Sentence for Fraud, Ohio Man Gets Prison Term for Scam, Two Men Face Charges Over Predictive Software, and Fund Manager Admits to $17M Ponzi Scam
CGM Limited Pleads Guilty to Securities Fraud CGM Limited, a subsidiary of ConvergEx, must pay a criminal penalty and restitution of $26 million for conspiracy to commit both securities fraud and wire fraud, as well as for wire fraud. The U.S. Department of Justice says that CGM limited charged clients…
Wells Fargo Sued Over Allegedly Biased Lending in Chicago
Cook County, Illinois is suing Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) for engaging in purportedly predatory and discriminatory lending practices in the Chicago area. The county said that the U.S. mortgage lending company targeted female, Hispanic, and black borrowers. Per the mortgage lending lawsuit, for over a decade Wells Fargo discriminated…
Unregistered Florida-Based Broker Charged with Securities Fraud
The SEC has charged Albert Scipione with securities fraud allegedly involving stealing investor money in a day trading scam. Scipione, who is an unregistered broker, has already pleaded guilty to criminal charges in a parallel case. According to the SEC, Scipione and Matthew P. Ionno pursued investors to set up…
Goldman Sachs, HSBC Sued For Manipulating Precious Metal Prices
A class action securities case is accusing Goldman Sachs Group (GS), HSBC Holdings Plc (HSBC), BASF SE (BAS), and Standard Bank Group Ltd. of manipulating prices for palladium and platinum. According to lead plaintiff Modern Settings LLC, the companies used insider information about sales orders and client purchases to make…
HSBC to Pay $12.5M Settlement to SEC Over Charges That It Violated Securities Laws
The Securities and Exchange Commission is charging HSBC Private Bank (HSBC) with violating U.S. federal securities laws. According to the regulator, the Swiss private banking arm did not register with the agency before providing clients in this country with cross-border brokerage and investment advisory services. HSBC Private Bank as agreed…
FINRA Orders Houston-Based USCA Capital Advisors LLC to Pay $3.8M to 19 ExxonMobil Retirees
A Financial Industry Regulatory Authority arbitration panel said that USCA Capital Advisors LLC must pay over $3.8 million to 19 ExxonMobil retirees whose investments were mismanaged the Houston-based wealth management firm. The self-regulatory organization also says that the Texas investment advisory firm misled the investors about its trading strategy. It…
SEC Enforcement: Wedbush Settles SEC Probe for $2.4M, High-Frequency Trading Firm Gets $16M Penalty, and the Regulator Suspends Companies Touting Ebola Treatment
Wedbush Settles Market Access Violation Case for $2.44M Wedbush Securities has agreed to settle a market access violations case with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission by admitting to wrongdoing and paying $2.44 million. The brokerage firm has also agreed to hire an independent consultant. According to the SEC order,…